


Young, Scrappy and Hungry

by GinnyK



Series: The World Turned Upside Down [5]
Category: Bull (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Marissa is not married, New Beginnings, office life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 22:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16147259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GinnyK/pseuds/GinnyK
Summary: It's Alex's first, and slightly overwhelming, day at TAC.





	Young, Scrappy and Hungry

**Author's Note:**

> As always, the title comes courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda
> 
> Comments are always appreciated.

By the late afternoon of his first day at TAC Alex’s head was spinning, but in a good way.  He was having an incredibly busy and exciting day.  And he hadn’t even spent much time with Dr. Bull yet.  He met with Marissa for a while when he first got in.  She gave him a quick tour and then he spent some time in HR filling out forms and getting an ID.

Next, he was invited to sit in on the “week ahead” meeting for the whole company.  While the meeting was certainly interesting beyond his imagination, the venue for the meeting was everything to him—the mock court room.  Marissa had purposely left the court room off her tour, letting his first experience of it being the meeting, where it was filled with people.  He scooted into the room and stepped aside, letting everyone else go in and take a seat as he was the only awestruck one there.  Bull was the last to enter the room, leaning next to him for a second and whispering, “It’s really cool isn’t it?” as he moved towards the front of the room.  Alex could just nod.  He slipped into the third row, notepad in hand.  He took a quick look around to make sure he wasn’t the only one taking notes, he wasn’t.  Plenty of people had legal pads, tablets, laptops and cell phones out to take notes.

While Bull spoke about what they would be working on for the next week or so Alex took notes and looked around.  There seemed to be a hierarchy at the front of the room.  Marissa sat away from the others, in the front row of the jury box.  She looked mainly at Bull and the tablet in her hands.  Benny and Chunk were in the front row, Benny with his laptop, Chunk a small spiral bound notebook.  They watched their boss but also did a fair amount of whispering to themselves.  Alex found it a little distracting at times, but Bull seemed used to it.  Everyone once in a while Bull asked for input from his top 3 employees.  Alex turned around a little at the sound of someone fidgeting behind him.  He saw the female investigator, whose name he couldn’t quite recall, Donna, Diana, something with a D.  He thought it was a little odd that she was all the way in the back, by herself.  Bull booming voice brought his attention back to the front of the room.

Much to Alex’s dismay, Bull introduced him to the group at the end of the meeting.  Luckily he only expected Alex to give a little wave.  Which he did with a completely uncomfortable smile.

After the meeting Bull tried to spend a few minutes with Alex but IT came by to get the young man set up with a laptop, network access and an email account.  With a promise to meet up later in the afternoon Bull shook Alex’s hand as he turned to meet up with Marissa in his office.

*****

After lunch Bull and Marissa went out for a litle while to meet with a prospective client.  Chunk offered to meet with Alex to explain a bit about his role in TAC.  Alex was happy about that.  Of all the roles in TAC, Chunk’s was the one Alex really had trouble wrapping his mind around.  Being 22 and possessing no sense of style whatsoever probably had something to do with it.  They sat on the couch in Chunk’s office for a bit, while Chunk explained his role.

“So how people present themselves on the witness stad can be just as important as what they say?” Alex said, leaning forward a bit, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Exactly,” Chunk said as he stood up to grab a portfolio off his desk.  “Here take a look at these pairs of pictures, tell me what you see.”

“What I see?” Alex asked as he opened the leather cover to the first set of a pictures.  Each set of pictures were of the same person, dressed differently.

“First reaction, don’t over think it,” Chunk encouraged him.

Alex looked at the two pictures, both of a middle aged woman.  “The one on the left looks kinder, more personable, the one on the right looks harsher, like she’s hiding something.”

“Exactly, try another one,” Chunk said as he grabbed two bottles of water out of his little fridge in the corner.

Alex spent the next 20 minutes looking at sets of pictures, encouraged by Chunk he found the whole process fascinating.  Eventually Chunk got up to take a phone call.  Alex wandered over to the racks of clothes and ran his hands over some of the shirts, realizing he really needed to go shopping.

“I can give you a few pointers,” Chunk offered, coming out from behind his desk.

“Ouch, that bad?” Alex said.

“Well, your style says you had to buy a suit to graduate in and you’ve probably had that tie since high school,” Chunk said as he pulled a plaid shirt off the rack and moved to the drawers with the ties. 

“Not high school, first year of college, my cousin’s wedding.  My brother Andy, he’s 9 now, he wanted to have matching ties.  Mom had to find somewhere that sold matching ties in kid and adult sizes,” Alex explained, smiling at the memory.

“Just one brother?”

“Yep,  just us and mom now.  Dad died a few years ago, lung cancer,” Alex explained quietly.

“Sorry to hear that,” Chunk said. 

“Thanks,” Alex replied, clearly not wanting to have a conversation about his Dad at that very moment.

“Here, what do you think of this?” Chunk asked as he held out the plaid shirt and a tie with subtle stripes.

“Nice,” he said.  He hesitated a little to take the items from Chunk.  “Thanks,” Alex said with a smile.  He set the things down and looked around a little more.  “I guess these are Dr. Bull’s things,” he said as he motioned towards a rack of plain dark suits and white shirts. 

“Good guess.  Can probably pare down that supply a little.  Since his heart attack he’s supposed to be better about going home and sleeping in his own bed at night.  Had a bad habit of sleeping on his couch.”

Bull knocked on the door to Chunk’s office and motioned for Alex to come with him.

“Thanks, Mr. Palmer,” Alex called over his shoulder as he left the room.

“Ouch, Chunk, not Mr. Palmer,” Chunk called with a grin.

*****

Alex set the shirt and tie down on his desk right outside of Bull’s office.  Bull was sitting on the couch and he motioned for Alex to take a seat in one of the chairs opposite him.

“So’s how the day going?” Bull asked with a grin as he leaned back into the corner of the couch, taking a sip from the bottle of seltzer in his hand.

“Uh, a little overwhelming actually,” Alex admitted as he took a sip of his water.  “Unbelievably interesting, but a little overwhelming.”

“That’s to be expected. And honestly, it hasn’t been a really busy Monday,” Bull said with a little chuckle.  Alex’s eyes widened as he tried to hide his surprise.  “So you were able to get the ID, laptop, some clothes from Chunk,” Bull said with a grin.  “He likes to show off his style skills, of which I have very few,” he teased motioning towards his outfit.

“Yeah, I picked out your rack of clothes quickly,” Alex said, hoping that teasing his new boss was appropriate.

“Ouch and yes, I imagine that wasn’t very hard to do. Marissa likes to say I only wear like three different outfits to work.  I should take some of that stuff home soon.”

“Since you’ve stopped sleeping on your couch?” Alex teased.

“Just how much time did you spend with Chunk?” Bull asked, trying to look wounded but completely failing.

“Not too long, and that’s about all I got out of him,” Alex admitted. 

“Well, I am sure you will be getting an earful when you spend more than 10 minutes with Marissa,” Bull sighed.  “So I know when I called you back to offer you the job we said we would change the title and responsibilities at bit.  But we were rather vague.”

“We certainly were,” Alex said, starting to get a little fidgety in his seat. 

“We’ll start with the assistant part.  I needed to hire an assistant to get some things off of Marissa’s plate.  Things I expected of her that were never her job.  Yet she did them anyway.  It’s a little complicated at the moment.  And I am sharing way too much right now,” he laughed as he glanced at the uncomfortable look on Alex’s face.  Bull took a quick breath to regroup a little. “Basic assistant stuff of course, phone, mail, make sure I’m where I need to be, when I need to be there.  I’ll get you access to my calendar tomorrow morning and a corporate credit card.”  Bull got up to pace around the room a bit.  “Like I said on the phone, I had a recent heart attack.  And I’m not exactly known for taking stellar care of myself.  Such as forgetting to eat and sleeping on my couch.  Now I don’t expect you to be my mother, but just toss me a sandwich every once in a while and remind me to go home at night. 

“Yeah, I think it’ll be a little more than that,” Alex said with a grin. 

“Probably.  I’m sure you’ll learn all about my bad habits in the days to come.  And if you see me in the cabinet down there,” he said pointed towards the cabinet he’d stashed the liquor in, “smack the back of my head.”

“I’m guessing booze?” Alex smirked.

Bull just nodded.  “So what about you?”

“My bad habits?” Alex asked with a laugh.

“Well, no,” Bull teased.  “Tell me about yourself.  The answers to the questions I can’t ask in a job interview.”  Bull sat back down on the couch, picking up the seltzer again. 

“Let’s see.  I’m still living at home with mom and my little brother Andy, who’s 9.”

“Dad?”

“Died two years ago, lung cancer.  Was gone within a year.  It’s been hard, especially on Andy.  He struggles a little, diagnosed with ADD about a year ago.  Medication trials have been, well, trying.  Think we finally found something that helps him and doesn’t cause too many side effects.  He’s great kid, worships the ground I walk on,” he teased as he pulled his phone out to find a picture of Andy.  He handed the phone across the coffee table.

“Cute kid.  What’s he into?”

“Loves video games but we try to limit them,  likes sports and computers.  And he’s obsessed with Broadway musicals.  Not exactly a typical 9 year old thing but Mom instilled a love of musicals in him.  Current favorite is Hamilton.”

“One of my favorites too.  Has he seen it?”

“Not yet, mom’s hoping to able to get him tickets for his birthday next year.  He’d absolutely love it here, the computers and monitors, they would keep his attention for sure.”

“You’ll have to bring him by some time,” Bull offered.  “And Mom?”

“Social Work Supervisor on an inpatient psychiatric unit.”

“So love of the human mind runs in the family,” Bull said with a grin.

“Something like that.  Mom wasn’t exactly thrilled with my psychology major because I can’t exactly do much with a bachelor degree. I told her I would go back to school in a year or so.”

“And your ultimate plan?” Bull asked curiously.

“Honestly, no idea.  But I am thrilled to be here.”

“And we’re glad to have you here.  Hey, how are you with computers?”

“Computers?  I can use any Office based programs, all the basic stuff you probably use here.  But no hacking or anything like that, if that’s what you’re asking.  And I’m pretty sure you are, as I’ve heard some stuff today.”

“I’m sure you did.  Probably heard the name Cable a few times.  She was our computer guru, and yes, our hacker.  You remember hearing about the bridge collapse in NJ recently.”  Alex just nodded, pretty sure he knew where the conversation was headed.  “She had rented a car to get out of the city and unfortunately went off the bridge.  We’re still all trying to process it.”

“Wow, not sure what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.  Just wanted to let you know what we’ve been dealing with recently,” Bull said as he got up once again to pace around the office.  He ended up behind his desk, looking out over the city.

“I’m guessing you’re still processing it too,” Alex said carefully.

“You sure you haven’t been talking with Marissa?” Bull said as he turned around to face the younger man.

“Nope. Not yet.”

“And yes, still processing it.  Anyway, moving on.  I’ve talked to Marissa, Bull and Benny.  You’re welcome to spend time with them, learn about their roles.  Feel free to help in wherever you think you can.  I told them not to give you the scut work, the only coffee you need to fetch is mine and feel free to tell me to get my own damn coffee,” Bull added.

“I can handle the coffee thing,” Alex replied with a grin of his own.

“We’ll probably be doing voir dire for the next case later this week.  Feel free to come along.  Marissa stays behind and pulls information on potential jurors as we go along. We use coms to communicate with each other,” Bull explained as he pointed to his left ear.

“At the risk of sounding like a babbling child, this place is so cool,” Alex spit out, unable to hold in his enthusiasm any longer.

“Yes it is,” Bull said as he pitched the empty seltzer bottle in the wastebasket next to his desk.  He glanced at his watch. “It’s 5:00, you are free to go home.”

“And you?” Alex asked as he stood up, already feeling comfortable enough around Bull to make sure he left at a reasonable hour too.

“Leaving too,” Bull replied as he turned off his laptop and shoved it into his backpack.  He grabbed his suit jacket from where it was hanging over the treadmill.

“You should probably try using that for something other than a clothes rack,” Alex pointed out with a little snort.

“You young man, will fit right in here.  You’re…you’re young, scrappy and hungry,” Bull said with a laugh.

“Oh boy, one day in and the Broadway quotes are starting already,” Alex responded with a laugh.

Alex went back out to his desk and put the file for the next case in it, along with the shirt and tie.

“You only need to wear a suit and tie when you go to court,” Bull said as he came out of his office, backpack thrown over his shoulder.  “Feel free to keep a suit in Chunk’s office, the rest of us do.”

“Yeah, well that would involve buying a second suit,” Alex said with a shrug of his shoulders. Bull just chuckled a little. Alex threw on his own backpack and followed Bull towards the elevator.

“It’s been a great first day, Dr. Bull.  I will see you in the morning,” Alex said as he held out his hand. 

“You can lose the “Dr” title, Bull is fine.  And if I don’t answer, try my first name, it’s what Marissa does.”

“Jason,” Marissa yelled from her office.

“See,” Bull said as he turned towards Marissa’s office with a smile and a wave.  Alex headed for the elevator, a definite spring in the young man’s step.

 

 


End file.
